Optimization of Transfection Properties of DNA-Lysine Dendrimer Complexes

We studied the possibility of optimizing the DNA transfection properties of carriers based on lysine dendrimers of the third and the fifth generation, including those containing a chloroacetyl or a lipophilic palmitoyl moiety at the C-end. The use of the lysosome-destroying antibiotic chloroquine and the amphipathic polycationic nonadecapeptide JTS-1 was found to enhance the DNA-transfecting properties of the lysine dendrimers. A triple complex including DNA, a lysine dendrimer of the third generation modified with lipophilic moieties of palmitic acid at its C-end, and JTS-1 was shown to be comparable in its transfecting activity to a complex containing Escort™, a commercial cationic liposome carrier.